


Standing on the Edge, Face Up

by Aelaer



Series: Earth-197320 [3]
Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anxious Tony Stark, Canon Disabled Character, Gen, Getting to Know Each Other, Introspection, Magic and Science, POV Tony Stark, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-19
Updated: 2019-12-19
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:06:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21854983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aelaer/pseuds/Aelaer
Summary: Ten days after his first meeting at the lake with Stephen, they were all meeting together to finally seal the deal. Tony was mostly sure he was okay with it."Okay" was the most positive term he could really apply to the whole mess. The situation really wasn't ideal in any form of the term, but what choice did he have? A wizard had stolen a lot of dangerous, radioactive material from around the world. Same wizard had stolen arc reactors from him, killed an employee of S.I. and sent Pepper—Nope. Nope. He wasn't going to think about that. Not right now, not when he was minutes away from talking with the good wizards and formally starting their plans to track and eventually thwart the bad wizard.(A direct sequel to "Inhibited Lodgings")
Relationships: Background/implied Pepperony, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Wong, Stephen Strange & Vision, Stephen Strange & Wong (Marvel), Tony Stark & Stephen Strange, Tony Stark & Vision, Tony Stark & Wong
Series: Earth-197320 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1497917
Comments: 28
Kudos: 73





	Standing on the Edge, Face Up

**Author's Note:**

> This is a direct sequel to the last story in the series and will make absolutely no sense if you haven't read the other two first as all of these stories are following one overarching storyline. This series as a whole stars Stephen and Tony, with Rhodey, Wong, and (now) Vision playing major supporting roles.
> 
> My biggest thanks to nemmy for her tireless beta work.

Ten days after his first meeting at the lake with Stephen, they were all meeting together to finally seal the deal. Tony was mostly sure he was okay with it.

"Okay" was the most positive term he could really apply to the whole mess. The situation really wasn't ideal in any form of the term, but what choice did he have? A wizard had stolen a lot of dangerous, radioactive material from around the world. Same wizard had stolen arc reactors from him, killed an employee of S.I. and sent Pepper—

Nope. Nope. He wasn't going to think about that. Not right now, not when he was minutes away from talking with the good wizards and formally starting their plans to track and eventually thwart the bad wizard.

It was a bit of an annoyance (that was the term Tony preferred) that it involved being around magic more, but he could live with that. Though he would have preferred to avoid it, if someone was going to do magical hocus pocus around him, Stephen Strange of the Other Dimension wasn't a bad choice of conductor. His moral compass was quite clear, for one, making him easier to figure out. He was intelligent enough to make decent conversation, too, which was always a plus in Tony's book.

So yeah, he could definitely be working with worse. He _had_ worked with worse for years (he still couldn't think of Stane without grimacing in disgust). Working with Stephen wouldn't be a bad experience. He just needed to get more used to the magic bit, and he would. Eventually. Exposure therapy was the term, if he remembered right.

First thing, though, was getting everyone into a room together, which is why he was in New York City, a warm beanie and thick scarf covering most of his features.

Now, Tony knew how to avoid people. He learned it from a young age, being the son of one of the most famous persons in America. He could dodge the paparazzi effortlessly by the time he was a teenager. So avoiding government agents from the alphabet soups of various security agencies while going to meet the wizards? Child's play.

Rhodey already knew Tony's ways, of course, but Vision's reaction was amusing—or rather, what _he_ was able to do with said reaction turned out very amusing.

"You seem to have a lot of experience with evading authorities," Vision said after he laid out the game plan.

"Authorities, the paparazzi, annoying people—it's all the same," Tony said. "I've been an expert for years. I'm not sure why you're judging."

Vision's brow furrowed. "Judging? There is no judgment on my part. It was just an observation, and completely neutral, I assure you."

"Good, good," he replied. "It'd be rather hypocritical otherwise, what with you sneaking around to girl's places." He placed a hand on his heart and raised his voice an octave. "My boy's all grown up."

Vision didn't twitch, but he did give him a look that made him inwardly smirk. Trying to sneak around behind _his_ back? A fruitless effort.

But at the moment Vision wasn't sneaking off to go wherever the love of his synthetic heart was squatting; rather Vision was approaching the rendezvous spot with the wizards from the east, while Tony came from the north and Rhodey the south.

They had chosen a restaurant that Tony fell in love with years ago. It was just a diner with classic American food—nothing special—but they had some of the best burgers in New York City. It turned out that Stephen was familiar with it too, making it all the better for a neutral meeting point.

Tony's known the owner for years, so booking the back room with the utmost discretion needed? Easy peasy. He'd tip everyone, from the busboy to the dishwasher, several hundreds if they just kept their suspicions that it _might_ be Tony Stark in the back room off Twitter and Facebook.

And with Black Friday and Christmas coming up, almost everyone could use the extra cash.

He got to the diner twenty minutes before he told the wizards to come. He spotted the owner and was immediately led to the private back room. It had no windows, no cameras, and a stained glass door separated it from the rest of the restaurant.

Vision came several minutes later, disguised as a very normal-looking middle-aged man with blond hair and a knitted sweater. He even managed to hide the stone in his head, which was definitely impressive; Tony was genuinely unsure if that was possible.

"Congratulations; you look completely and utterly boring," he said in greeting. "The sweater's a nice touch."

"You did say we were to look like normal civilians," Vision answered as he took a seat at the table. "It certainly invites less stares."

"I'd think so," said Tony. "I'd say you need to try one of their burgers, but, well…"

Vision smiled. "Sadly not yet one of the pleasures of life I can indulge in."

Yet? That was an interesting thought. Before he could prod at that further, Rhodey arrived. He nodded to the two of them before taking the other chair beside him.

"Right," Rhodey started, all business. "So we're going to meet this other wizard, and you'll meet Stephen, Vision. And after we outline our agreement, they're supposed to show us where they're storing the canisters."

"Yeah," Tony said. "And I want to actually eat something; I haven't been here in ages."

Rhodey picked up a menu. "I don't think I've ever come here before, Tones. What do you recommend?"

"Oh, any of their burgers, definitely. They're amazing."

Tony was in the middle of debating the merits between the Hawaiian burger and the barbecue burger with Rhodey when the door opened and Stephen slipped in with a stockier Asian man. It was rather weird to see Stephen in street clothes; Tony had gotten used to the robes over the last ten days and before that it was just sweats as he healed at the Compound. He was appropriately bundled up for the weather in a heavy grey coat that went to his knees and a pair of short boots. His companion—who could only be the mysterious Wong—wore a black windbreaker and the most stoic expression he'd seen in a long time.

Stephen nodded in greeting to the table. "Thank you for meeting with us." He glanced at Vision with a slight frown before gesturing to his companion. "This is my colleague, Wong."

"Nice to meet you, Wong," Rhodey said. "James Rhodes, but most people call me Rhodey—which is entirely Tony's fault."

"Yeah, probably," Tony admitted. "And this is Vision, though I know he doesn't look like Vision at the moment."

Stephen finished taking off his coat and slid into a seat at the table, focusing his gaze on Vision. "Can you take on the form of any person?"

Vision considered the question. "I suppose I very well could if I desired, but I'm not sure why that would be necessary in the first place."

"It could be useful in getting into places, to find necessary information from groups like HYDRA," Stephen replied.

Tony raised a brow at him "We're not giving anyone any ideas." He could only imagine what Ross would do with Vision if he put that thought together. What was Stephen playing at?

Still, Vision was clearly considering the scenario. "It very well could be," he said. "However, I would prefer not to. There are others more suitable as spies for gathering information, and I would like to appear as I want to appear. I don't see myself doing otherwise unless there was no other choice."

The answer seemed to satisfy Stephen. Before the conversation could go on further, the owner himself came to the room to see what everyone wanted to drink. Tony couldn't help but catalogue their answers: nothing for Vision, obviously, just water for Rhodey and Wong, and both he and Stephen went for coffee.

"You didn't really strike me as a coffee drinker," Tony said once the owner was gone.

Stephen raised a brow. "I went through med school; of course I drink coffee. But admittedly not as much as I used to."

"Wizard working hours not as demanding?" he asked. He could feel Rhodey looking at him from the side.

"They actually can be worse," Stephen retorted. "And I told you it's 'sorcerer'. No, rather I have become quite fond of tea, but I prefer loose leaf over teabags."

Vision's brow furrowed. "You use a strainer in a teapot with loose leaf, correct?"

Wong answered, "Correct," and studied Vision in a way that Tony couldn't read. It was mildly irritating. Vision didn't seem to mind it, though, and looked back just as openly.

Rhodey cleared his throat. "We should decide what to eat before the waiter returns. Then we can get to business."

Leave it to Rhodey to get things back on track. Tony already knew what he was ordering, so he spent the next minute or so surreptitiously studying the two wizards (sorcerers, whatever). From the glances he got back from them, he wasn't as stealthy as he could have been. Oh well.

The owner returned, got their orders, and quickly left.

"You should've gotten a burger," he told the two across from him.

"I was feeling like a pastrami sandwich," Stephen said back. Wong didn't even bother replying.

Rhodey gave Tony another sidelong glance, then started with, "As everyone here knows, Stephen and Tony have been in talks throughout the last week to see what we," he nodded down to himself, then towards Tony and Vision, "might be able to provide in terms of resources in exchange for information that I understand is known by you alone, Wong." Wong inclined his head in brief acknowledgement.

He took a drink of water before continuing. "Our main concern is that the uranium you recovered from Strange a couple weeks ago is safely contained and not in use. I know your own is the continued secrecy of your order and to keep government officials out of this."

"The current state of the Accords would make it impossible for us to continue our duties with the resources we currently have," Wong said. "The matters we deal with do not coincide with the moving of the rest of the world." He paused and added, "In usual circumstances. But the case with Strange cannot go beyond you three, not without Stephen's or my agreement."

"That's fine," said Rhodey. "All three of us are okay with keeping this under the radar or we wouldn't be here today. What I need to know is if there's something on your end that would make all this official. We can't exactly draw up contracts."

Tony was pretty sure Wong was thinking about the question, but his expression hadn't exactly changed. A short moment later, however, he was drawing something that was glowing in the air an inch off the table and causing the sensors in Tony's glasses to spew ridiculous numbers. "In front of this sigil, your spoken word is an oath," said Wong.

Vision gazed at it with fascination. "This is exquisite."

Rhodey, however, was frowning a bit (which probably matched his own expression). "And what happens if someone broke this oath?"

"All other parties who spoke in front of the same sigil would be immediately aware of it," Wong answered.

Tony continued to frown. "You sure that's it? It wouldn't cause their insides to explode or catch fire or something?"

"Not this particular sigil," was Stephen's dry retort. That only made Tony frown more.

Wong's expression didn't change as he looked between the two of them, but he said, "I'll demonstrate," then turned to stare at the sigil. "I will not use the uranium currently within our possession and will only move the canisters if they're in imminent danger of being damaged or stolen." The sigil pulsed softly, then stilled once more.

"It seems very simple," said Vision, and before he or Rhodey could say anything, said, "I will not reveal the existence of the order of sorcery to any government body or any individual without permission, as long as my allies continue to work to preserve life and reality." Again the sigil pulsed before stilling again. Vision didn't suddenly keel over, allowing Tony to relax a smidge.

Rhodey, though, still looked very uncertain. "You both were specific, but I can see half a dozen loopholes that go around what both of you said."

"Unlike the typical written contract, sigils such as these are very much in the spirit of what is being spoken," Stephen said. "The intention behind the words and what each party believes they mean are a part of the oath. When Wong releases it, everyone will clearly understand the expectations of the other party."

Tony stilled. "Like what, like altering my mind?"

Stephen seemed to immediately catch his change of mood. "No, nothing of the like. If anything, you are able to read my intention behind my words, and I, yours. It can perhaps be described as a magical lie detector in some ways. I assure you that the sanctity of your mind remains untouched."

Dammit, he could feel Vision's eyes on him. Tony had been very good at never mentioning anything about mind reading… well, ever. Time to brush him off. "If that's the case, then yeah, sure," he said, even as the pit of his stomach rumbled with anxiety. Stephen hadn't lied before; surely he wasn't lying about this. He'd be fine. All was fine. Before he could lose his nerve, he repeated the words Vision had just spoken.

Again the sigil pulsed and… he didn't feel different. Well, other than anxious, but that was par for the course. Tony glanced elsewhere even as Stephen repeated Wong's words and Rhodey said Vision's.

Then Wong released the sigil, and Tony involuntarily tensed.

Nothing happened.

"That's it?" he heard Rhodey ask after a moment.

"That's it," Stephen said, and slowly, slowly, he began to relax.

"Okay," said Tony, more than ready to move to a new topic. "Now that that's done, we can talk about the fun part. I've been tinkering with these sensors to detect the magic Strange gave off in the research labs for months, now." He slipped a thin container about a square inch big and only a couple millimeters thick from his pocket. "The actual sensor inside is almost as thin as paper and nearly invisible. Waterproof, windproof, works in temperatures up to 150 degrees and down to negative 40. Still working on some of the icing problem," he mumbled. "Anyway, ever since you left a portal in the Compound, Wong, I've been able to recalibrate my sensors to look for the exact same energy signal that your portal gives off."

Stephen's brow furrowed. "That is quite a feat. What do you want to do with them?"

"Well, out of everyone who'd know where he could be, it'd be you," Tony answered, gesturing at Stephen. "So I want you to stick these things all over the world in places wherever you think your doppelganger might go to."

Stephen pressed his lips together. "It took me several weeks to find him in Sokovia. If he was just going to places that I might normally visit, I would have found him much faster the first time around."

Tony huffed. "Well, then use the same reasoning you used to find him the first time, only do it for your top fifteen locations."

Rhodey raised a brow at Tony. "There's only fifteen of these?"

He grimaced. "Yeah, I need Californium to make them work." At the blank stares he received in reply, Tony rolled his eyes upward and explained, "Californium is a radioactive and completely synthetic element. It's only made in two places in the world, and the number of hoops I've had to go through to get my hands on the first bit without actually divulging what the sensors were for was some of the most marvelous bit of bullshiting I've ever accomplished. But I don't think I'm getting anymore anytime soon, and sadly I don't own either a particle accelerator capable of producing it, or a nuclear reactor to make them there. Say, Rhodey, you think the US gov would sell me the Tevatron? It's a particle accelerator in Illinois that they haven't used in years, ever since the Large Hadron Collider came into the market. Oh, I bet S.I. could use one like that. We could open a branch there. I should talk to—"

He cut himself off. He nearly said Pep. God damn it all, he had forgotten for one sweet, sweet moment before reality came crashing down upon him.

Before the situation could get really awkward, the owner came back with food, and Tony promised himself he was doubling the already sweet tip he had planned for him to reward his impeccable, fantastic timing.

The silence sat for a few minutes as everyone dug into their food (except Vision, of course, but Vision was used to it) and Tony willed everyone around him to completely forget that he never completed his statement. He doubted Rhodey would—Rhodey knew him entirely too well—but maybe he'd get lucky with the others.

Still, he had enough bites and enough silence for now.

"I'm telling you, you should've gotten a burger," he told Stephen again.

"Still happy with the pastrami," Stephen retorted.

"Next time you get a burger," Tony retorted back, and completely ignored Stephen's raised brow as he pivoted the conversation to, again, more interesting things. "So we're stuck with fifteen sensors for the foreseeable future. That's not a lot, but you don't have to apply all of them at once. I'd rather we watch and wait on areas before confirming a pattern with the sensors, if you get my drift."

"That's fine," Stephen said. "I can think of four places that would be good spots to begin with, but for the others it will take more thought and examination."

Tony nodded. "I'd rather you take your time." Another bite later, he added, "Say, can you fly without your cape cloak thing? The range on these is pretty long, and at heights it might prove more beneficial. I think it could easily get a city block; we might need to experiment with one of them first."

Wong made an actual facial expression (and Tony just held in a comment about it) and repeated, "'Cape cloak thing'?"

"The Cloak of Levitation," Stephen clarified, then said to Tony, "I believe I can, though it would take some tricky maneuvering. I would need to practice." He shrugged. "I hadn't ever needed to when I had the Cloak, but… I suppose it would be a good idea to practice. I don't think it'd do much to break a fall, though." He grimaced to himself.

"Mordo's boots have that ability," Wong pointed out. Tony frowned slightly as Stephen's grimace only deepened and made a note to prod into that further at a later time. "If you can create a similar mechanic to slow your descent, it would make the use of mandalas as platforms less dangerous. I do know there have been sorcerers in the past who travelled short distances that way, but it fell largely out of practice with the invention of cars."

Stephen made another face. "Yeah, no, I don't think I'll be travelling by car anytime soon if I can help it."

Vision's brow furrowed. "Why is that?" he asked.

Rhodey looked away and Tony did his best to put on his 'nothing to see here' expression as Stephen became very still. A short moment later, he raised both of his trembling hands for Vision to see and said, "Because of this," in as emotionless a tone as Tony's ever heard from the doctor.

Vision's brow remained furrowed, but it softened from curious to apologetic. "My apologies, Doctor; that was an indelicate question and I should know better by now."

Stephen shook his head as he lowered his hands. "No, it was an innocent enough question. Besides," he shrugged, "it's what led me to finding out about the order of the Masters of the Mystic Arts in the first place. Happened to my doppelganger, too, so it seems it's partially an event shared throughout realities. Some would call it fate." He made a face at the word.

"We're masters of our own fate," Tony retorted. He figured if he said it enough, he'd eventually fully believe it.

As they finished off their meals, Wong said, "I can take you to the location now, if you wish."

"That'd be appreciated," said Rhodey. "I presume through a portal?"

Wong nodded once. "It shouldn't take long. We will meet with Stephen after."

Vision and Rhodey shot him a curious frown, and Stephen answered, "Precaution. If Strange is going to ask anyone about the uranium, it will be me. It's best that I have no idea where it is."

"A reasonable precaution," Vision said.

A few minutes later, their plates were empty and the restaurant owner came back into the room. Tony took the check (naturally) and walked with the owner back to the door as he paid in cash, and a tidy sum of it, to get out of there faster. "I don't need the receipt. We'll be out of this room within fifteen minutes; I'd appreciate it if no one came to clean up until we're gone. Extra tips from me next time for anyone in your staff who doesn't blab about their tip today to the rest of the world. There's a fat bit of change for all your staff there." The owner promised to relay his message to the staff. Tony then went back to the table. "That should keep any rumors of us here off social media."

Stephen raised a brow. "Do you tend to bribe restaurants often?"

"For quiet from the paparazzi? Absolutely. If that means others also don't know where I am, well, that's just a bonus," he answered with a smirk.

The doctor huffed in amusement, then turned to Wong. "Where should I meet you?"

"I'll show you," said Wong, and Stephen looked curious even as Wong placed two glowing fingers to the other's forehead. "We'll meet you there."

Stephen blinked a couple times. "Right. I don't know this place at all. Where is it?"

"Tibet." Before any further questions could be asked, Wong continued, "Our trip will only take a couple minutes. Feel free to look around while you wait."

"Okay," Stephen replied, brow furrowed. He stood up and took the little metal trinket—the sling ring, he called it—off his belt. "Thank you for lunch, Tony. I will see you all shortly." With that, he placed the sling ring on his left hand and lifted his arm. And no matter how many times Tony has seen it, it still astounded him to watch Stephen create a portal that cut through the physical realities of space. The sparking noise didn't bother him as much as it did even a week ago, though it still made him uneasy for reasons he couldn't entirely pinpoint.

The wizard-sorcerer walked through and disappeared; Tony glanced at Rhodey and Vision to gauge their reactions, as both had not yet seen it in person.

Vision looked absolutely fascinated by the whole thing. The colonel, though, had his look a bit more schooled, though Tony's pretty sure his friend was equally fascinated and put off as he was by its existence.

Once Stephen was gone, Wong stood up and grabbed his coat and put it on; the others followed suit. "In order for you to be able to follow me to see the storage unit," he started, "I will need to place a spell on all of you in order to better withstand the environmental conditions."

Tony immediately took a step back. "Whoa, whoa. That was _not_ part of the agreement." Rhodey frowned and Vision looked curiously at him.

Wong's expression didn't change at all in the face of his protest. "The agreement relied heavily on the fact of going to the location of this storage unit," he said. "The environmental conditions in its location will not suit any of us. It's a spell I'll also be placing upon myself."

Even then, Tony hated the thought. However… "I can just wear the suit, then. It's temperature-controlled and can withstand both extreme cold and heat."

Still the sorcerer showed no signs of any of his thoughts, and it was driving Tony a bit batty. "You have the suit here?" Tony just tapped the nanite holding unit on his chest in response. To his great relief, Wong accepted it for what it was and inclined his head before looking to the other two.

"I don't believe I'll actually need the spell," said Vision. "I can simply make my form intangible while we're present in this environment so my synthetic skin suffers no possible damage, though I am not certain how much damage I would actually take in the first place. It's rather durable."

Rhodey sighed. "That leaves me, I guess. I can't say I'm comfortable with you putting a spell on me like this, but since you're putting it on yourself, that makes me feel a bit better. What will it feel like?"

"It shouldn't feel like anything," said Wong. "It is, in actuality, a shield that shapes to your form rather than anything that changes you. You can see how it appears on me." Wong made a couple quick motions with his hands before pressing his fingers to his own forehead. The lightest sheen of blue translucence then covered his whole form, though it was not especially perceptible. Tony's shades spat back several numbers about it that made no sense, but it certainly appeared to be a barrier of some sort that modulated the body within, but kept it from being exposed to anything else—while still allowing oxygen to flow through. How did it do that?

"Alright, fine, go on then," said Rhodey, though Tony could hear the tinge of reluctance. He'd be able to see if anything was different about the two shielding forces, at least.

Wong nodded and added, "Best get your suit, Mr Stark," as he started the hand gestures again. Tony, in turn, double tapped the casing on his chest and took off the glasses as the suit formed about his body.

He was used to reactions when people saw the nanotech at work for the first time, but Wong's poker face was the best he had seen in years. Maybe he should challenge him to a poker match; that might be interesting.

Rhodey now had that blue sheen over him and was studying his arms and movement as Wong said, "Follow me," and began to open a portal.

Vision phased as the portal fully opened, and Tony suddenly realized what Wong meant by harsh conditions when he looked on a dark, snowy landscape that went on as far as he could see. Wong walked through without hesitation, and Vision floated just after him without concern.

As Rhodey carefully stepped forward and tested the connection by putting an arm through first, Tony felt a sudden hesitation grip his heart. What the _fuck_ was going on? It was snow, snow didn't bother him, at least he didn't think it did. Yeah, magic really sucked, but now Rhodey was going through and there was no fucking way he was going to stay behind, no matter that his brain was screaming _danger_ for reasons that made no sense.

And so Tony whispered very softly, "Tell me when my location changes, FRI," closed his eyes tightly, and just started walking as nonchalantly as possible.

"It's changed," she said even as he could feel the first two steps in the snow, and he opened his eyes to find himself in some wintery, cold night _somewhere_ —

"Where are we?" Rhodey asked even as FRIDAY, without prompting, began to bring up a map and coordinates up on Tony's HUD. Huh, apparently it was almost 40 below zero (on both scales) with the current outside wind chill. He could certainly feel some of its forces pressing against him.

"Antarctica," Wong answered, "just between the McMurdo and Concordia research bases. The uranium is about 1000 meters below us."

Rhodey stared at Wong in disbelief before looking at Tony. "Can you see that far?"

"Not with this. FRI, what would we need to confirm it's down there?"

"Scanning that far is often done in the oil industry with seismic tomography measured with a seismic vibrator, a truck-mounted device." Tony just refrained from making a joke about that. "A magnetometer may also work, and it appears there are many on the market that can read to 1000 meters."

"Great, get the best one of those," he said. "I'll read the manual and we'll come back later to confirm." He had to admit it was a good spot; deep storage was considered the best storage for radioactive material, and there was no way of anyone, oil company or super-powered individual, stumbling upon it down here.

Vision appeared thoughtful. "I could go through the earth and confirm for myself. The journey there and back will certainly be less than ten minutes."

Rhodey frowned in thought. "Can you get disoriented about up and down? Is there any chance of you getting stuck or lost?"

He considered the question. "Minimal, but not outside the realm of possibility."

Tony shook his head. "I'd rather not take the chance; I'd prefer to do such a thing as a last resort." Vision inclined his head in acquiescence.

Wong, again, didn't react in any way to the whole conversation. Rhodey just sighed softly and said, "Yeah, I guess you're right. The magnetometer will do for now." He turned back to Wong. "Can we check it out in a couple days?"

"Barring an emergency, it shouldn't be a problem." Wong then opened up another portal, and fuck, that weird anxiety was coming back and _like fucking hell_ Tony was going to let it take him over. Before it had so much of a chance to get beyond a faster heartbeat, he forced himself through by focusing on a stone wall at the far end of wherever the portal led.

He was through.

He was okay.

… where the hell was he?

It looked like a cluttered storage space of some art or history museum. If he had to imagine what the storage spaces of those sorts of museums looked like a hundred years ago, this fit it to a T.

Tony let his armor fall away even as he heard the others join him and the portal close. He grabbed his shades and put them on to read more data, but to his alarm nothing was coming through.

"Your phones will not work," Wong said as he passed him, and Tony had to wonder if the man knew what he was trying to do. "All modern technological forms of communication are cut off in here."

"And where is here, exactly?" Rhodey asked, following.

"Tibet, as I told Stephen earlier. This is an ancient refuge of our order that Strange never learned about." He passed through another doorway and they were left little choice but to follow him.

Less than a minute later, after wandering about after Wong through a very weird collection of random items that even Tony knew better than to touch, Wong stopped at the edge of another doorway. Tony made his way beside him and looked into the room.

There were more gathered artifacts of various shapes and sizes, all of which appeared to belong to some museum somewhere. To the far left of them was Stephen, his hand held up against a glass container of a red cape that seemed to be floating and even extending itself to the glass, to meet the spot adjacent to Stephen's hand.

Tony's brow furrowed; was that the cloak Stephen had talked about losing in his own reality?

He thought to step up and ask just that, but Wong was partially blocking him and didn't seem inclined to move. Rather he seemed to be waiting for something, so Tony stood back and watched.

"What are you doing behind glass still?" Stephen muttered; the room was shaped in such a way that its acoustics carried his soft question to them easily. "Did you never go to my counterpart in this reality?"

The cloak tilted itself as if it were studying him, then again pressed an edge against the glass facing Stephen. The doctor stood back and looked at the case up and down before making a quick gesture, and the front of the glass disappeared. He again lifted his hand up towards the cloak.

With the barrier between them down, the cloak pressed its end into Stephen's outstretched, trembling hand. He loosely grasped it in turn, lightly stroking it with his thumb.

Then the cloak broke free and circled Stephen a few times, as if inspecting him. He lowered his outstretched arm and allowed the sentient piece of cloth to do its thing, though he himself twisted about a bit so as to better follow the cloak's movements and ended up partially facing the group, though Stephen did not seem to notice they were there yet.

A few circles around Stephen seemed to satisfy the cloak, and it rounded him one last time to settle snugly upon Stephen's shoulders as if it had always belonged there. A choked laugh broke from Stephen's throat and Tony noticed him quickly blinking away tears. "I've missed you," he muttered, raising his hand to stroke the lining of the cloth.

Tony glanced sidelong at Wong; if he didn't know any better, he'd say the stoic expression had softened a bit. "So you do know how to make an expression that isn't a frown," Tony quipped—and quickly found out that the room's acoustics worked both ways.

Stephen immediately stilled and looked towards the four of them. The soft fondness turned into an expressionless mask quickly and Tony found himself frowning at the change. "I didn't hear you come in."

"We just arrived," Wong said, which… was sort of true, Tony guessed, depending on how one viewed the word 'just'. Very sneaky of Wong. "You are familiar with the Cloak of Levitation?"

"Yes," said Stephen. "It, uh, it was my com—my relic, or rather, it chose to be mine. The one in my reality had a… an incident." He cleared his throat. "I was not expecting it to be here. I thought it would be with Strange."

Wong shook his head. "It never reacted to Strange in this way, not to my knowledge. He was just another Sanctum Master to the relics in New York. I haven't seen the cloak this animated in all my time in Kamar-Taj."

"No kidding," Stephen muttered, glancing down at his shoulder. "I guess it detects that we're two different people."

Rhodey cleared his throat. "I don't mean to, er, interrupt, but…"

"Of course," said Wong. "We do need to work out the finer logistics. The lounge is just this way." He started down the path, and Stephen and Rhodey quickly followed.

Tony made to follow just as quickly, but Vision had a strange expression on his face that caused him to ask, "What's up? Something not right?"

"No, nothing like that," he answered. "I just found that encounter very enlightening. I do not believe I will have any trouble working with Doctor Strange."

His lips quirked up. "Always that optimism. But yeah," he added, "I'm thinking that this might not be a bad deal at all." With that, Tony hurried to catch up with the other three to brainstorm on how to stop a villain.

**Author's Note:**

> I ended up learning a lot more about synthetic elements and particle accelerators than I planned to when I first started writing this, but I really didn't want to use vibranium again. But yeah, Californium (named because the University of California in Berkeley discovered it) is one of the most expensive elements in the world at like $27 mil per gram. Usually items only need like, a millionth of said gram to work, though, so it's all good. They're used in metal detectors and the like to do just that. I decided it can also detect whatever atomic particles are released with magic. The only two places it's synthesized are in the US (in a lab in Tennessee) and in a lab in Russia. Finding out random stuff like this is one of the best parts of researching fics, it's so much fun.
> 
> I have an outline for the fourth story in this series but not much writing on it yet. I'm afraid I have no idea when it'll be out, but this series will be one of two primary projects for 2020. I will update my progress from time to time (with the occasional snippet) over on [tumblr](https://aelaer.tumblr.com/).


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